1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a system for engaging and disengaging a friction clutch of a motor vehicle. The system can have at least one drive, which drive can be connected to an energy accumulator, The drive is intended to move against the force of a spring mechanism of a friction clutch, such as a diaphragm spring, by means of a transfer element.
2. Background Information
German Patent No. 31 28 424 A1 discloses a hydraulic system for engaging or disengaging an automobile friction clutch, wherein the system has a multiplicity of radially separated drives in the form of cylinders running parallel to the axis of rotation of a clutch bearing. The drives are connected to a master cylinder which acts as an energy accumulator to impinge the respective pistons with hydraulic medium, thereby causing the pistons to extend against the force of a spring mechanism of a friction clutch. The pistons are interconnected by means of a disk-shaped transfer element. Upon depressurization of the master cylinder, the spring mechanism pushes the pistons back into their original position.
After a friction clutch has been in operation for a long period of time, the friction surfaces become increasingly thin as a result of wear, whereby the spring mechanism causes a pressure plate to advance in the axial direction. As a result, a downstream system for engaging or disengaging must then perform a different stroke, which in known systems is accomplished in that additional hydraulic medium is fed from a equalizing vessel of the master cylinder into either the master cylinder or the slave cylinder.